<p>There are times when hockey analysis becomes reductionist, ignoring the full sum of the parts, but Bobby McMann and Joseph Woll carried the Toronto Maple Leafs to a <a href="https://theleafsnation.com/news/knee-jerk-reaction-bobby-mcmann-plays-x-factor-leads-leafs-2-1-victory-islanders">2-1 victory over the New York Islanders</a>.</p>
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<p>Woll was tremendous with 32 saves in the winning effort, making several high-danger stops, fending off the Islanders&#8217; constant attempts to disrupt the net-front. He saved 2.08 goals above expected in all situations via Natural Stat Trick and was sensational in his second consecutive start.</p>
<p>McMann scored both goals for the Maple Leafs, finished with a game-high six shots, threw two hits, and his primary line with Max Domi and Nick Robertson outshot the Islanders 8-2 at 5-on-5. It was another tremendous performance and one that was desperately needed. Mitch Marner and John Tavares&#8217; multi-game point streaks were snapped, but Toronto held on because of its superior third line and goaltending — it&#8217;s been two games in a row where Woll has outdueled Ilya Sorokin.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Mann, this line 👀 <a href="https://t.co/1Bjjq7PlmA">pic.twitter.com/1Bjjq7PlmA</a></p>
<p>&mdash; Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs) <a href="https://twitter.com/MapleLeafs/status/1875019390707757511?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 3, 2025</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>
<p>McMann was awarded the team belt, given to the best or most impactful player in a winning effort.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Woll saved 2.08 goals above expected in all situations, with 32 saves in a terrific performance. </p>
<p>And while we&#39;re here: Bobby McMann, two goals, game-high six shots, two hits in all situations. while the McMann-Domi-Robertson line outshot the Islanders 8-2 at 5-on-5. <a href="https://t.co/7IXgkjy5UU">https://t.co/7IXgkjy5UU</a></p>
<p>&mdash; Arun Srinivasan (@Arunthings) <a href="https://twitter.com/Arunthings/status/1875017545125859654?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 3, 2025</a></p></blockquote>
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<h3>Here are four takeaways from the Maple Leafs&#8217; 2-1 victory over the Islanders:</h3>
<ul>
<li>Joseph Woll was tremendous from the outset and never looked back. Woll stopped Kyle Palmieri on a first-period breakaway, he robbed Hudson Fasching in the first, then capped off the opening frame by bailing out John Tavares. Tavares committed a brutal giveaway, but Woll calmly recovered. He made a series of tremendous saves on Anders Lee and Mathew Barzal in the second and he closed out the game with the lead. Woll wasn&#8217;t remotely phased by the Islanders clouding his vision at the front of the net, and gave the Leafs more than a chance to win. Woll and McMann are the clear reasons why the Leafs won this game.</li>
<li>Bobby McMann was outstanding for the Leafs with two goals, six shots, while winning both of his faceoff attempts. McMann&#8217;s elite speed is his best quality, but he&#8217;s using it well in tandem with Max Domi and Nick Robertson and their chemistry as a line continues to grow. Toronto desperately needs secondary scoring and the third line delivered on a relative off night for Tavares and William Nylander. Domi threw a massive reserve hit on Isaiah George, winning the puck back to Robertson, who found McMann flying into the offensive zone as the third forward, and he beat Sorokin with a clean look for the game&#8217;s opening goal. He was looking to create all evening, working well off Domi, who was making crisp passes throughout the contest. Toronto&#8217;s first power play unit didn&#8217;t test New York at all, but once again McMann and his linemates were rewarded, as he scored the game-winner with the second unit, picking up an Oliver Ekman-Larsson shot off the wall and wired it past an outstretched Sorokin. When McMann is on like this, he&#8217;s the remedy to many of the Maple Leafs&#8217; issues with depth scoring.</li>
<li>McMann-Domi-Robertson were placed together on December 15 and they&#8217;ve outscored opponents 8-4 at 5-on-5, with a 54.3 share of the expected goals via Natural Stat Trick. You have to imagine that this line will remain intact, even when Auston Matthews returns to action. Toronto can afford to reshuffle its top-six, but given its issues with secondary and depth scoring, this line is a found combination for Craig Berube to use throughout the season — and it could be Toronto&#8217;s third line against certain playoff opponents as well. Domi may quietly be amid a second-half surge reminiscent of last year, where he quietly morphed into one of the NHL&#8217;s best playmakers at 5-on-5 during the latter portion of the regular season.</li>
<li>Morgan Rielly played an excellent game with Philippe Myers, and this combination should stick together throughout the weekend. Both players were hunting for offensive chances, Myers&#8217; positional sense was strong and Rielly made clean exits throughout the contest. Toronto&#8217;s defencemen have scored the fewest goals by any team in the NHL and went through December without getting on the board. Rielly was looking to get shots to the net, with a few intentional shot-passes, and was looking to attack off the rush. Rielly&#8217;s four goals and 18 points on the year may be somewhat underwhelming, but he&#8217;s settled in as an ideal No. 3, capable of providing more offence when required. Rielly has produced good individual underlying numbers this year and has been often asked to carry inferior partners this season, during games when he&#8217;s not paired with Oliver Ekman-Larsson. Rielly-Myers worked well in tandem and were Toronto&#8217;s best defensive pairing by far on Thursday. Myers played his first game of the year with a poor showing against the Bruins on October 26, and should be provided with an opportunity to redeem himself against the team&#8217;s most heated rival.</li>
</ul>
<h2>Sponsored by bet365</h2>
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There are times when hockey analysis becomes reductionist, ignoring the full sum of the parts, but Bobby McMann and Joseph Woll carried the Toronto Maple Leafs to a <a href="https://theleafsnation.com/news/knee-jerk-reaction-bobby-mcmann-plays-x-factor-leads-leafs-2-1-victory-islanders">2-1 victory over the New York Islanders</a>.
<div class="bam-inline-promotion-block" data-max-length="2" data-placement-id="2106" data-context="web-content-promocard" data-property-id="324"></div>
Woll was tremendous with 32 saves in the winning effort, making several high-danger stops, fending off the Islanders' constant attempts to disrupt the net-front. He saved 2.08 goals above expected in all situations via Natural Stat Trick and was sensational in his second consecutive start.

McMann scored both goals for the Maple Leafs, finished with a game-high six shots, threw two hits, and his primary line with Max Domi and Nick Robertson outshot the Islanders 8-2 at 5-on-5. It was another tremendous performance and one that was desperately needed. Mitch Marner and John Tavares' multi-game point streaks were snapped, but Toronto held on because of its superior third line and goaltending — it's been two games in a row where Woll has outdueled Ilya Sorokin.

https://twitter.com/MapleLeafs/status/1875019390707757511

McMann was awarded the team belt, given to the best or most impactful player in a winning effort.

https://twitter.com/Arunthings/status/1875017545125859654
<h3>Here are four takeaways from the Maple Leafs' 2-1 victory over the Islanders:</h3>
<ul>
 	<li>Joseph Woll was tremendous from the outset and never looked back. Woll stopped Kyle Palmieri on a first-period breakaway, he robbed Hudson Fasching in the first, then capped off the opening frame by bailing out John Tavares. Tavares committed a brutal giveaway, but Woll calmly recovered. He made a series of tremendous saves on Anders Lee and Mathew Barzal in the second and he closed out the game with the lead. Woll wasn't remotely phased by the Islanders clouding his vision at the front of the net, and gave the Leafs more than a chance to win. Woll and McMann are the clear reasons why the Leafs won this game.</li>
 	<li>Bobby McMann was outstanding for the Leafs with two goals, six shots, while winning both of his faceoff attempts. McMann's elite speed is his best quality, but he's using it well in tandem with Max Domi and Nick Robertson and their chemistry as a line continues to grow. Toronto desperately needs secondary scoring and the third line delivered on a relative off night for Tavares and William Nylander. Domi threw a massive reserve hit on Isaiah George, winning the puck back to Robertson, who found McMann flying into the offensive zone as the third forward, and he beat Sorokin with a clean look for the game's opening goal. He was looking to create all evening, working well off Domi, who was making crisp passes throughout the contest. Toronto's first power play unit didn't test New York at all, but once again McMann and his linemates were rewarded, as he scored the game-winner with the second unit, picking up an Oliver Ekman-Larsson shot off the wall and wired it past an outstretched Sorokin. When McMann is on like this, he's the remedy to many of the Maple Leafs' issues with depth scoring.</li>
 	<li>McMann-Domi-Robertson were placed together on December 15 and they've outscored opponents 8-4 at 5-on-5, with a 54.3 share of the expected goals via Natural Stat Trick. You have to imagine that this line will remain intact, even when Auston Matthews returns to action. Toronto can afford to reshuffle its top-six, but given its issues with secondary and depth scoring, this line is a found combination for Craig Berube to use throughout the season — and it could be Toronto's third line against certain playoff opponents as well. Domi may quietly be amid a second-half surge reminiscent of last year, where he quietly morphed into one of the NHL's best playmakers at 5-on-5 during the latter portion of the regular season.</li>
 	<li>Morgan Rielly played an excellent game with Philippe Myers, and this combination should stick together throughout the weekend. Both players were hunting for offensive chances, Myers' positional sense was strong and Rielly made clean exits throughout the contest. Toronto's defencemen have scored the fewest goals by any team in the NHL and went through December without getting on the board. Rielly was looking to get shots to the net, with a few intentional shot-passes, and was looking to attack off the rush. Rielly's four goals and 18 points on the year may be somewhat underwhelming, but he's settled in as an ideal No. 3, capable of providing more offence when required. Rielly has produced good individual underlying numbers this year and has been often asked to carry inferior partners this season, during games when he's not paired with Oliver Ekman-Larsson. Rielly-Myers worked well in tandem and were Toronto's best defensive pairing by far on Thursday. Myers played his first game of the year with a poor showing against the Bruins on October 26, and should be provided with an opportunity to redeem himself against the team's most heated rival.</li>
</ul>
<h2>Sponsored by bet365</h2>
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Leafs-Islanders takeaways: Bobby McMann, Joseph Woll steal the show in narrow victory

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